US wants a stronger India: US Ambassador to India Richard Verma

Condemning cross-border terrorism targeting India, U.S. Ambassador Richard Verma on December 14 said the Indo-U.S. ties are on a different plane compared to Washington’s “complex” relationship with Pakistan where the focus was on “counter-terrorism”.

“We have always maintained that cross-border terrorism has to end, and the perpetrators needed to be held accountable,” Verma told media persons here to a query on the export of terrorism from Pakistan to India. “Our relationship with Pakistan is complex, based on counter-terrorism. With India it is on a different plane,” the ambassador said at the Press Club in Kolkata. Iterating that the Indo-U.S. bilateral relations have been at their best over the past two years, he said: “We have relied on each other like never before (during this period).”

U.S. has emerged as India’s largest trade partner with the two-way trade touching $110 billion, with the two countries now setting a target to increase to $500 billion. “There are only a couple of countries which are both our strategic and commercial partners. India is one of them,” he said.

The final agreement for the India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Deal will be inked next year, while clean energy and climate as emerged as a single most important area of cooperation between the two countries. “The U.S. and India, the world’s to largest democracies, represent 1.6 billion people. if U.S. and India remain good partners, the world will be safe and prosperous,” he said.